" Delicious recipes for your offspring "

As important as milk is for babies in the early stages of life, at some point it no longer fills them up and makes them satisfied. There comes a time when you prepare the first baby food. But when is the time for baby food made from beetroot, potatoes or zucchinis? And what should you bear in mind?

The right time for complementary food

Your baby will send clear signals when it is ready. Then the time for the first complementary food is approaching. This is a supplementary food that is added to breastfeeding or the bottle. The transition is therefore quite smooth. It doesn't matter whether your little sunshine is four months, five months or even six months old.

Children develop very individually and you as parents will instinctively sense when the time is right to offer the first baby food. Prepare yourself for this and keep nice bibs and a child-friendly placemat ready. You will definitely need both for your child's first attempts at eating.

Which porridge is suitable?

Many young parents are a little unsure at first. No wonder, given the variety of choices on offer in the form of ready-made porridges. But you don't really need to be impressed by this. After all, you can make your own baby porridge quickly and easily in your kitchen at home.

The baby food is gradually built up with new ingredients. Start with just one type of vegetable and then add something new week by week.

Basics for preparing baby food

Make sure you use as few vegetables as possible or preferably untreated vegetables. It is therefore a good idea to buy the slightly more expensive vegetables from the organic food store. When cooking, avoid cooking for too long. It is much better to steam the vegetables gently.

Unprocessed vegetables for baby food

Steaming preserves many important nutrients and vitamins. It is also important that you always cut the vegetables into small pieces. This rapidly reduces the cooking time required for baby food. As you can see, making baby food yourself is a simple task that can be done quickly.

Delicious recipe ideas for preparing baby food

There is definitely an appealing variety when it comes to preparing baby food. We have put together some delicious recipes for you. You can of course vary the quantities given so that you can stock up on homemade baby food.

Delicious recipe ideas for baby food

Vegetable porridge made from carrots and potatoes

Peel the carrots and cut them into small cubes or pieces. Take a pan and fill it with a little water. Insert a steamer basket and bring the water to the boil first. Place the carrot pieces on the steamer basket and cook for a few minutes. Feel free to test when the time is right to remove the carrots. Now mash the pieces with a fork until you have a nice mash. Add about a teaspoon of refined oil to the mash.

Vegetable porridge made from carrots

Give your child pure vegetable porridge for about a week. After that, you can add another ingredient and prepare a new baby porridge. This is usually potatoes, which can be added and cooked in the same way.

Baby porridge with meat

Once the pure vegetable porridge has been well tolerated, it is time to introduce another food: Meat. Beef, lamb and chicken are ideal for cooking baby food. There are several baby food recipes with meat. Here is a delicious example with beef:

Ingredients for 4 to 5 portions:

• 100g minced beef
• 250g potatoes
• 500g carrots
• 1 half apple (peeled)
• rapeseed oil

Place the minced meat in a pan and fill with water until the meat is covered. Leave to simmer for approx. 10 mins. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and potatoes. Cut them into small pieces and add them to the pot. Add more water until the mixture is lightly covered. Simmer again for a good 8 minutes. During the last two minutes, grate the apple and mix it in. Then remove the pan from the hob and puree everything.

Add a teaspoon of oil and leave the porridge to cool. Before giving the porridge to your child, test whether it is still too hot.

Fruit and cereals

Fresh and fruity is of course also allowed. Baby food made from fruit is popular with the little ones and provides their little bodies with lots of vitamins. Applesauce is very popular.

Baby porridge made from fruit and cereals

Combinations of fruit and cereal porridge are ideal as a snack. You can puree mild fruit varieties such as apples, pears, peaches and bananas for fruit porridge.

Ingredients required:

• 3 tablespoons of cereal flakes
• 100ml water
• Fruit porridge

First put the water and cereal flakes in a pan and stir well. Leave to stand for a good 5 to 10 minutes. Now stir in the desired fruit porridge.

Before feeding, add a little rapeseed oil again.

Caution: Foods that are taboo for babies under one year old!

There are a few foods that are generally not suitable for babies under the age of one. These include spices of all kinds, for example. If you prepare baby food and make your own baby porridge, it is therefore essential that you avoid the following foods:

Dairy products

Babies are not yet able to digest cow's milk. You should therefore only give your little one substitute milk in the first year of life. Quark should not yet be eaten due to its high protein content. Raw eggs and raw milk are also taboo due to the high risk of salmonella.

Only give formula milk in the first year of life

Honey

Even if many believe that this natural sweetness seems healthier for baby food, this food carries the risk that the baby's intestines may not yet be able to process it properly.

Peas, beans and onions

All foods that can lead to flatulence should be avoided. These would only lead to severe abdominal cramps.

Nuts

Whole nuts are not recommended for babies as there is a risk of them choking on them. However, ground nuts are fine from the age of 6 months - provided there are no allergies in your family.

Leaf lettuce

A toddler under the age of one is not yet able to chew this food sufficiently.

Green baby food

Despite these small restrictions, there are still plenty of ways to cook a delicious baby porridge. Just try out these delicious recipe ideas.

The importance of baby dishes

To ensure that your little one can eat their baby food properly, you should also have the right tableware set to hand. As the first attempts at eating will still be quite bumpy, high-quality baby tableware must have certain features that support learning to eat. For example, the plate should preferably have a high rim, but never a sharp one. Of course, the tableware should also be free from harmful substances. Melamine is the preferred material. It is very light and break-resistant, but such plates should not be heated in the microwave.